How to Use current_page? to Highlight Active Navigation Links in Ruby on Rails

Learn how to effectively apply the "active" class to navigation links in Ruby on Rails based on the current page using `current_page?`.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/73735083/ asked by the user 'rcrusoe' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/3713090/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/73735562/ provided by the user 'mechnicov' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/10608621/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Highlighting Active Navigation Links in Ruby on Rails

Navigating through your website is key to providing a smooth user experience. However, it can sometimes be challenging to visually indicate which page the user is currently on. Fortunately, in Ruby on Rails, you can easily achieve this using the current_page? method.

Let’s dive into how you can apply an “active” class to your navigation links to clearly indicate the current page.

Understanding the Problem

You're likely building a web application and set up navigation links in your layout. The goal is to show users which link corresponds to the page they're currently on. In your initial attempt, you applied the active class to the navigation links but encountered a problem:

The active class did not apply to the "Work" link when on the root path (/).

The links performed correctly on other pages, indicating that the setup was almost there, but needed a small tweak.

The Solution

Step 1: Implement the active_class Method

To effectively manage the active class for navigation links, you'll want to create a helper method that checks if the current page matches any of the desired paths.

Here's a refined version of the active_class method:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 2: Use the Helper Method in Your Views

Now that you've set up the active_class method, the next step is to utilize it in your view templates. Adjust your navigation links as follows:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Explanation of the Changes

You updated the active_class method to accept multiple path arguments. This allows it to check if the user is on either the "Work" page or the root page (/).

By passing both work_path and root_path to the active_class method for the "Work" link, you ensure the active class is applied correctly when users are on the homepage as well as the work page.

Step 3: Verify the Outcome

After implementing the above changes, your expectations for the active class will be met as follows:

The "active" class will now be correctly applied to the "Work" link on both / and /work.

The "About" link will continue to work as expected.

Conclusion

By using the current_page? method in conjunction with a custom helper method, you can create an intuitive navigation experience for users visiting your Ruby on Rails application. These steps will help you highlight which page users are currently viewing, making their navigation much more seamless.

With just a few lines of code, you've enhanced the usability of your web application.

Now go ahead and make those small adjustments; your users will appreciate the improved clarity in navigation!